1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a network configuration method and system which enables network configuration by remote control in network equipment noncompliant with a protocol for accepting network configuration remote control.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the spread of networks, network construction has been increasingly demanded even for homes and locations such as small-and-medium-sized business establishments which cannot be expected to include the existence of a highly-skilled network administrator. To construct such a local network, configuration of network equipment such as routers and switches, etc., is necessary, however, if the existence of a network administrator cannot be expected, outsourcing to a vendor, etc., is necessary, and cost and the burden of time for network construction hinders smooth introduction of a local network. Even if a network administrator exists, in view of a reduction in introduction costs and operational costs, a technique for automatically configuring network equipment according to configuration information of all network equipment including remote network equipment administered by the network administrator is desired.
Patent documents 1 to 6 and Non-patent document 1 propose network equipment automatic configuration methods for automatically configuring network equipment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the construction of the network configuration system disclosed in Patent document 1, and a management server 2 and a local network 3 are connected to a wide area network 1, and the local network 3 includes only compliant equipment 31a and 31b compliant with an auto-configuration protocol. Network configuration for such a local network 3 is performed according to the following steps.    (1) A network administrator 4 at a remote site registers a configuration file of compliant equipment 31a and 31b into the management server 2 in advance.    (2) The compliant equipment 31a which was turned on performs a query for automatic configuration on the management server 2 when starting or periodically according to an auto-configuration protocol installed in the equipment in advance.    (3) The management server 2 which received the query from the compliant equipment 31a returns a response including the configuration file registered in step (1) to the compliant equipment 31a.     (4) The compliant equipment 31a performs network configuration by registering the configuration file received from the management server 2 into itself according to the auto-configuration protocol.    (5) The steps (2) to (4) are repeated as many as the number of pieces of compliant equipment.    Patent document 1: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. H07-162448    Patent document 2: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2001-60968    Patent document 3: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2001-117885    Patent document 4: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-9808    Patent document 5: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-185522    Patent document 6: Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2004-193988    Non-patent document 1: Service Specifications (http://www.iij.ad.jp/ICSFiles/afieldfile/2007/07/31/SMF025KA.pdf), SMF sx Service, Internet Initiative Japan Inc., SMF sx Service (http://www.iij.ad.jp/service/system/IIJ-SMF_sx.htmsl)
In the conventional technique described above, when a plurality of pieces of network equipment arranged in a local network is automatically configured, all network equipment must be compliant with an auto-configuration protocol. However, most local networks for homes or small-and-medium-sized business locations are multi-vendors constructed by combining a plurality of vendors, routers, and switches, and include network equipment noncompliant with the auto-configuration protocol. If even one piece of noncompliant equipment is included, as in the conventional technique, this poses a technical problem in which commissioning to a vendor such as dispatch of a network administrator with high operation skills to the location is necessary.